Corset-stiffener and method of making same



(No Model.) v

3., K. WARREN & J. H. HOLDEN.

CORSET STIFPENER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

No. 559,827. Patented May 12, 1896:

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@ MJ/I. pf {yaw ANDREW B GFAIMM. FNOIOUTNQWASMNGTUNJ C.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFlCE.a

EDYV'ARD K. VARREN AND JONAS H. HOLDEN, OF THREE OAKS, MICHIGAN.

CORSET-STIFFENER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAM E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 559,827, dated May 12,1896.

Application filed March 5, 1895.

To whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDWARD K. \VARREN and JONAS 11. HOLDEN, citizens ofthe United States, residing at the village of Three Oaks,

in the county of Berrien and State of Miehigan, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Corset-Stiffeners, Dress- Stays, and LikeArticles and the Method of Ilia-nufacturing the Same, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in featherbone and in the methodof manufacturing the same and to improved apparatus for the purpose.Featherbone is a r 5 fanciful name given to the corsct-stiifener, forwhich Edward K. "Warren received Letters Patent No. 286,745), datedOctober 16, 1883, and. Letters Patent No. 311,621, dated February 3,1.885, issued to him fora further improvement in the manufacture of saidfeatherboue. In the construction of featherbone as described in theseformer patents, in the first patent the fiber was wound into cords, andin the second one the cords were wound together side by side to form abroad flat blade, then the flat blade was stitched through, and this,with winding it, gave the same firmness and prevented it from becomingloose or falling apart; but in this construction there would frequentlybe small projections formed upon the blade or cord, which would remainthere constantly and a more rolling or laundering was insufficient tomake the blade smooth and flat, and the blade as then constructed wasmore liable to injury, for when a thread became broken, as thefeather-bone depended entirely upon winding to hold the fibers together,the blade or cord was likely to become frayed in this way.

Our invention has for its objects improve ments in fcatherbone and inthe method of manufacturing the same, to construct the same so that theblade shall be smooth and flat and thin and possess continuity in i1:-

4 5 self, not depending entirely on winding of the quill fiber to makethe blade firm, and also to compact the blade so that it will be morestrong and elastic where such qualities are desired to answer itspurpose. \Ve desire to state, however, that in some instances it is notdesired. to make the blade stiff and firm, and we only refer to this asa means of construct- Serial No. 540,586. (No model.)

ing the same when it is desired to so manu facture the blades or cordsof featherbone.

lVe accomplish these objects of our invention by the processes andmethods (employing apparatus) shown in the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 shows the manner and apparatus for accomplishing thefirst two steps of our process. Fig. 2 shows an illustration of a.device for accomplishing another two steps of our process. Fig. 3 is adetail elevation of two rollers adapted for use in our process. Fig. 4.-is a top plan view of a blade of featherbone manufactured as we havedescribed. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. [l

is an end View showing actually and d elin itely the illustration of ablade of our improved feather-bone as manufactured by our improvedprocess.

In the drawings similar letters of reference refer to similar partsthroughout the several views.

After the blades of featherbone have been wound and stitched, asindicated in the patents to said lVa-rren above mentioned, we proceed totreat the same by first passing the strip of featherbone (which isconstructed in a continuous strip as long as it will be convenient tohandle) through a suitable sizing composed of glue and any othersuitable constituent-s, which can be so various that an attempt atenumeration would be useless. The strip should be thoroughly saturated.Along band of featherbone C is dipped down into the box or trough Acontaining sizing and passed into a drying-room B, which is heated inany suitable and convenient manner to dry the sized featherbone quicklyand as dry as it is possible to dry it by such means. The featherbone isthen passed through the steam-heated tube or pipe D. It is passedthrough the small pipe D", which is inserted in the large steam-pipe D,which is connected by the pipes shown, which permits of a continuousflow of steam around the smaller pipe. This heating-pipe in actual useis over twelve feet long, but the length of it is immaterial so long asthe strip of featherbone (J becomes thoroughly heated, and a greater orless length than twelve feet may be used, as speed or othercircumstances may require. lhc strip of featherbone should be sothoroughly heated by this process that the fibers of quill containedtherein are thoroughly softened; in fact, almost melted. This isaccomplished by heating the same to very nearly the boilingpoint ofwater, which is accomplished by the steam-heated tube. As soon as it isheated in the pipe it is passed out immediately before cooling betweenthe cold rollers E E E E, which are made male and female to receive thesame, and compress and form it into exactly the size strips desired. Oneset of rollers can be used or more than one. In practice several setsare used and the strip passed through them continuously. The process ofheating and rolling can be repeated, if desired, to produce an extraquality of featherbonc; but for all ordinary purposes once heating androlling or ealendering is all that is required.

\Ve desire to state that in practice it is found that the sizing causesthe thread to adhere to the fibers of the featherbone and also fills upthe small interstices between the fiber of quills in the strip, and whenthe feather-bone is properly and thoroughly cooled and dried it affordsa composition which unites very firmly with the fibers of thefeatherbone and connects the thread very tight to it also. iVhen thestrip of featherbone is passed through the heating-tube, the heat issuffi cient to soften the sizing and also the substance of the quillsand makes them pliable and easy to bend, and also makes them so verysoft that when they are bent in that condition they retain their shape.The substance of the quill regains its elasticity on cooling. When astrip of featherbone isheated in this way and then passed throughbetween the cold rollers of the right dimension and size to compress allof the fibers, it crowds all very firmly into a blade and thoroughlyincorporates all the featherbone together, so that it has the appearanceof forming a continuous blade or cord of the same material. Thereduction in temperature causes the material to chill and set in theform desired. The fact that it is wound and stitched does not appear,except on close inspection. The temperature to which the featherbone issubmitted, it will be readily understood, is very much-higher than thetempcratu re of the human body, the temperature being very near theboilingpoint, from the fact that the pipe D is heated by live steam onthe outside.

lVe accomplish by this method. the result long soughtforin themanufacture of feather bone and have so perfected a superior article inthe first place that it has much the same appearance of the articlewhich it is intended to supersedewha1eboneand at the same time itpossesses all of its own superior qualitiesthat is,it does not split. Itcan be sewed through in any direction with indifference with no fear ofinjuring the texture or quality of it.

lVe desire to state that the steps of our process can be considerablyvaried without departing from our invention. It is not absolutelynecessary to pass the strip of featherbone down into the trough ofsizing. The sizing can be applied in other ways so long as the strip offeatherbone is saturated. It would not be absolutely necessary to have aspecial drying-room for the featherbone, and if it is heated in anyother Way to the required temperature and rolled between cold rollersthe same result is attained, though the exact apparatus we have shown isfound to be the most effective.

Having thus described our l11V6l1tlOD,Wll2lt we claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is- 7 1. A process in manufacturingcorset-stiffeners consisting in bundling together the fibers of quillsto form cords or blades; sizing said cords or blades; drying the same;heatin g the dried sized quills until they are tl1or oughly softened andapplying cold pressure to the same, substantially as set forth.

2. A process, in manufacturing corset-stilleners, consisting in bundlingthe fibers of quills into suitable blades sizing the same; heating the.blades until the fibers of the quills become softened; and applying coldpressure to the same to form the blades, as specified.

3. As an improved article of manufacture, an elastic cord or bladecomprising the fiber or splints of quills of feathers, wrappingthreadand a sizing, all compacted together and molded to form the fiber orsplints, and the sizing being incorporated into a continu ous mass, andthe thread embedded in the mass as and for the purpose set forth.

4. As an improved article of manufacture, an elastic cord or blade,comprising the fiber or splints of quills of feathers incorporatedtogether, and a sizing, all compacted together and molded to form thefiber or splints into a continuous mass, as and for the purpose setforth.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals in thepresence of two witnesses.

EDWARD K. XVARREN. [L. s]

JONAS H. HOLDEN. LL. s] itnesses:

J. H. AMES,

7M. 0. HALL.

